AIG Extends Deadline for ILFC Sale

American International Group Inc. on Monday said that it has given a Chinese consortium until the end of July to complete the $4.8 billion purchase of International Lease Finance Corp., after the consortium missed a Friday deadline.

The New York financial services giant said in a filing that the amended deal to sell up to 90 percent of Century City’s ILFC now gives it more flexibility to seek out other buyers. It can terminate the deal if it determines that required approvals won't be met by July 31.

The amended deal also gives AIG the right to pursue a possible a public offering of a majority stake in ILFC, which it acquired in 1990.

AIG did not say why the sale, first announced in December, did not close Friday. The transaction almost derailed earlier this month when the consortium, led by the chairman of New China Trust Co., was late with a 10 percent deposit.